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"The new shed is about four times the size of the old one so we have ample room for the truck, meetings, functions, new toilets and a kitchen, which we didn't have previously," he said. "We also received a new truck about one year ago. When I say a new truck, it was previously Drouin's truck."

Mr Penny said the new station was part of the State Government's Rural Fire Stations Replacement Program.

"In my travels to other stations across Victoria, I haven't come across any other station that looked as old as the Sheep Hills one," he said.

Mr Penny said 27 of the 33 Sheep Hills brigade members were honoured for their community service at the opening.

"All of our brigade members are volunteers and they do a lot of unpaid work and this upgrade makes them feel appreciated," he said.

Former brigade captain Geoffrey Krause received an award for 50 years of service.

"It is an honour to receive the award and it does mark a period in my lifetime that I am proud of," he said. "It is almost a lifetime of work."

Mr Krause said the presentation brought back memories of fighting fires with knapsacks when he first began volunteering.

"Talking about this brings back memories for me. Although every fire is different, there have been a lot of good times," he said. "The good thing is that there are no bad memories that I can think of."